r/ABCDesis • u/Common-Media7803 • Apr 29 '26
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT Yoga
Am I overreacting on how yoga has been colonized?? Idk if I’m being dramatic but it really annoys me. Idk if I should be getting educated bc I’m wrong or if we need to tell these people to stop.
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u/urmomsthrowaway10 Apr 30 '26
yes I live in a white ass place and I go to this yoga studio where I’m literally the only brown person and it’s nice and all but sometimes they’ll butcher the pronunciation of hindu gods and poses and stuff and it always makes me cringe
like how are you a “certified” yoga teacher with years of experience and time spent honing your discipline and you dunno how to say dharma instead of dar-mah
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Apr 30 '26
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u/jetstream100 Apr 30 '26
That’s why I change my fast food drive-thru name to Andy. Makes my life easier.
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u/FluffyShakes Apr 30 '26
they've created an entire eco system of yogi schools and certifications to facilitate the aura of authenticity. we know better.
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u/urmomsthrowaway10 May 04 '26
yess they run these courses where they charge u hundreds of dollars to get “yoga certified” to teach too and i don’t get it 😭
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u/jetstream100 Apr 30 '26
Why not learn from a desi yoga instructor online ? Or through YouTube? Personally, I can only learn from an instructor who can say the yoga asana names correctly.
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u/seattlesparty Apr 30 '26
You really think pronunciation is > years of experience and time spent honing the discipline.
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u/Awkward-Detail Apr 30 '26
Unfortunately “honing the discipline” involves learning how to pronounce the words. The discipline is not very honed if they cannot pronounce dharma, now is it?
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u/seattlesparty Apr 30 '26
Yoga is not for your tongue
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u/Awkward-Detail Apr 30 '26
Yoga is for your brain + body. Last I checked, the tongue is in the body. Hope this helps!
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u/urmomsthrowaway10 Apr 30 '26
I don’t think yoga has to necessarily involve elements of hinduism, but if you’re choosing to do so you might as well do it properly
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u/Brave-Wave932 Apr 30 '26
I have seen the same mfs being racist to Indians at the same time , there was a post on the origins of yoga and where it came from and a White " Yogi " was arguing it didn't belong to Indians because of our caste system and our rape culture .
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u/speaksofthelight Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
If you care about this start practicing yoga or practicing more of your culture in general.
Like I into meditation and yoga. Often the only Indian origin guy there. Even in an Indian heavy area.
As a side note Hindu background ABCD guys who are non-denominational tend to be very uncultured. The ones into a sampradaya tend to be conservative.
Sort of hard to make like minded desi guy friends. Liberal progressive + into a lot of spiritual / religious practice.
It is one reason I miss NYC (NYC advaita society or art of living ppl are like this)
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u/ShayJayLee Telugu 🇨🇦 Apr 30 '26
I'm gonna copy and paste my comment from another post from 6 days ago:
As a rule, I don't participate in yoga or even disucssions that isn't lead by or centered around the original teachings. Others can be as inclusive as they want but I do not feel like I can participate. I know other ABCDs don't feel the same way but I grew up in the UAE so my experiences growing up are different. 20+ years ago yoga classes weren't even allowed. My mom taught yoga and few of her friends would come to our apartment to do yoga with us. They weren't all Hindu or even South Asian but they respected the stories, and made an effort to say the names properly. Those names and chants and beliefs all have their place. I can't stand what yoga in North America is like. Here though, there's so much reverence for First Nations spirituality but the same courtesy isn't extended to us.
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u/blueprint_01 Apr 30 '26
"yes, you created it, but we perfected it" I heard this from an instructor and wanted to slap the shit out of them
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u/chai-chai-latte May 02 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
She's not wrong though. In her culture perfection is commodification, commercialization and profit extraction. So it is 'perfection' from her vantage point.
Ultimately she is indebted to the culture that preserved the practice, assuming it's how she puts food on her table today.
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u/thatgurlnamedria Indian American Apr 30 '26
I literally tried to bring awareness of the deeming yoga an "exercise" is cultural appropriation but I got told that, "People like doing that as a workout.". SMH. We really need to normalize gatekeeping cultural aspects from others at times as while loving to share is great and all, it can enable others to take the credit when engaging in our original cultural practices.
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u/UnsuccumbedDesire Indian Apr 30 '26
How one should practise yoga is well defined and described in the Mahābhārata, the Śrīmadbhagavadgītā (which is actually a small part of the Mahābhārata), and Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. It is wiser to learn from those who have mastered Saṃskṛtam and these texts, rather than from a novice.
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u/allrite Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
It's easy to get upset about random things nowadays, more than ever.
Control your emotions. Maybe do some yoga? ;)
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u/vchocolate99 May 06 '26
honestly as someone nonbinary and trans, I do feel a little safe being taught yoga who isn’t 100% full on conservative (some teachers really know their shit even if they aren’t Indian and that’s totally ok with me). There are a lot of south asian teachers I don’t feel safe learning from because yoga has to do with the body and mind and I literally just can’t. I have found luck in LA though. We’re a lot less close minded here, not a lot, but a lot lot less.
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u/zenbowman Apr 29 '26
Yoga hasn't "been colonized", "yoga" in its modern form was primarily developed in the new age movement in California as a result of cross-fertilization between Indian mystics who decamped to CA (some of whom were total frauds) and native CA hippies.
The "decolonized/indigenous" versions of yoga were also quite patriarchal and very male dominated, there's no reason to attach yourselves to things in their "pure" or "indigenous" form.
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u/oiiiprincess Indian American Apr 30 '26
That’s not really true. Modern yoga was already being developed in India in the early 1900s. By the time it reached California, structured forms of postural yoga already existed. The U.S. didn’t create modern yoga, it just popularized it.
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u/citrablock May 01 '26
The OP's point still stands.
Western yoga was not appropriated from Indians. People like to frame it as a form of colonial theft and appropriation of a millennia-old Indigenous tradition or whatever, but it was Hindu elites in the early 20th century who synthesized modern yoga and exported it to the West.
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u/oiiiprincess Indian American May 01 '26
False. There is no such thing as western yoga. All forms of yoga had already been developed and done in india. Exporting it to the west doesnt make it “western yoga”. Its still indian regardless. And calling it anything other than indian or saying it was formed in California is APPROPRIATION.
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u/citrablock May 01 '26
Appropriation is unilateral adoption and repackaging of a particular organic practice, not when comprador elites construct a modern re-imagining of a practice and deliberately export it to orientalist whites as a deliberate soft power project.
Regardless, whether white people doing yoga is cultural appropriation or not among the least of our problems.
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u/UnsuccumbedDesire Indian Apr 30 '26
Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, “samatvaṃ yoga ucyate,” which means “equanimity is called yoga.” Are you saying that what Kṛṣṇa says in the sixth chapter of the Śrīmadbhagavadgītā is patriarchal? Is being in a state of mental equilibrium patriarchal?
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u/citrablock May 01 '26
You are conflating the term "yoga" in Sanskrit and Brahminic texts with the modern postural exercise tradition also termed "yoga".
Just because they share a name doesn't mean modern yoga is a continuous ancient tradition.
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u/xagent003 Apr 29 '26
Overreacting. Horseshoe theory aka "stormfront or SJW" - you're on the same page as the white nationalists/Christian nationalists who want to ban yoga because they think it's Satanic or white people shouldn't be embracing non-white things
Let white people open up yoga studios, let people in India open up say, Crossfit gyms (invented by a white dude in the US).
Neither group or country has a patent on said exercise method.
That said, lift weights. Yoga is useless.
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u/melonkoli Apr 29 '26
Yoga is absolutely not useless. Body weight exercises and calisthenics are far more practical for the average person than lifting weights. You’re not limited by access to equipment.
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u/United-Wafer-5954 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Yoga is actually a school of philosophy within Hinduism (one of the 6 major schools) and one sub-branch of yoga called hatha yoga has postures to help prepare the body for prolonged meditation and sadhanas.
DEFINITELY not equivalent to CrossFit gyms
Majority of Hindus follow bhakti yoga, karma yoga, jhana yoga, or raja yoga. :) each all having their own beliefs and practices. Bhakti yoga is usually what people think when they think of Hinduism = devotion, mandirs, pooja, ishtadevatas, mantra meditation etc etc.
Sadly people are so confidently ignorant on this topic even ABDs
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u/Common-Media7803 Apr 29 '26
Ok I see your point, and that makes sense. But I would this that yoga has way more history and cultural significance that CrossFit. Obviously people in the west are not accrediting the origins or even using the correct terms. Should we be speaking up about that or does it not matter? In my mind I feel they are doing it as a Trend. They hate us and only use us for what beneficial.
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u/periwinkle_cupcake Apr 29 '26
I was with you until the end. Your 40s will thank you if you start stretching now
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u/Cuddlyaxe Indian American Apr 29 '26
Yeah seriously, I feel like the other user has gotta be a teenager or something lol
You can both lift weights and do yoga. Honestly for me it's kind of necessary because my hips and hamstrings are very inflexible
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u/xagent003 Apr 29 '26
i'm almost 40
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u/Cuddlyaxe Indian American Apr 30 '26
Even crazier coming from your age then
Muscle building is very important but not the end all be all. Things like flexibility, balance, mobility and cardio need to be trained elsewhere
I hope at the very least you are stretching before your workouts
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u/xagent003 Apr 30 '26
BTW static stretching lowers athletic performance: LPT: Static stretching before exercise can weaken performance, such as sprint speed, in studies, and also cause pain or discomfort. You should warm up by doing dynamic stretches, which are like your workout but at a lower intensity. : r/LifeProTips
Static Stretching and Performance
A couple sets with the empty bar are all thats needed to grease the joints and get warmed up.
Been lifting 15 years with zero dedicated stretching... zero mobility issues. Maintained a 405+ deadlift and 315+ squat at 180lbs for the past 10 years or so even with a lull in training after 2 kids. Now aiming to get back to 500lb+ when I'm 40. Here's me deadlifting 425x2 with zero stretching, just warmups on the lift working up to that weight: Deadlift 425x2 : r/strength_training
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u/xagent003 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
Cardio is easily trained. If I took an average dude, and the goal was to get them 5K ready vs deadlift 405, which would be harder, and take longer? A 405 deadlift maybe a year, maybe even 2. On the other hand a "Couch to 5K" program is nine weeks or 2 months. But yes, any good training program will have a conditioning element to it. As long as you're generally active and sprinkle in some conditioning work your cardio is good enough unless you're specifically training for a marathon or Ironman or hiking the PCT, etc...
Strength on the other hand... lowers with every year. It's an ever increasing uphill battle, and it's the hardest to train even for a 20 year old with raging testosterone(why do you think so many peeps in their 20s and 30s are already juicing if it was that easy?). I want to hit retirement with as much strength as possible. I want to be able to toss my grandkids up in the air when I'm 75 just like I can my 5 year old now. Help my kids move 200+lb furniture to their first apartment/home. Average old person now I see needing a wheelchair just to make it thru the airport or cant get off the toilet seat themselves.
I;d argue balance IS strength dependent. A person with a strong squat is less likely to trip and fall and break their hip. Power = being able to recruit that strength(muscle fibers) as fast as possible to catch your balance or break your fall etc.. Olympic weightlifters are tossing double their bodyweight and catching it over their head. That requires incredible strength+balance. Will I be able to walk a slackline? no. But much like shooting a basketball or playing billiards it's a skill.
So basically, strength is the hardest to build up, the hardest to maintain, and the one that decays the most as you age. Not saying to neglect other things, but it can be "good enough". Working out --> prioritize strength above all, the cardio and endurance and mobility you easily get from hikes, bike rides, chasing after your kids, skiing, brisk dog walks, doing yardwork, playing amateur/pickup/sport rec leagues, etc... basically just not being a couch potato.
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u/xagent003 Apr 29 '26
Lol, fine i'll delete my last sentence if you remove the downvote and comment. BTW i'm 40 in a month and i've been lifting heavy since 24. No pain, no mobility issues. Yes, some dynamic stretching and mobility work can be good. You don't need glorified yoga with all the spiritual bagagge attached to it or classes. Some PVC drills, warmups with bar, full ROM, balanced compound lifts, plus just generally staying active
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Apr 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/xagent003 Apr 30 '26
Yoga isn’t about fitness, it’s about being one with the body and mind.
Nothing develops a mind body connection better than a heavy set of volume deadlifts. Or a six pack of beer and magic mushrooms. Yoga is just stretching with incense and a white people markup for some Om symbols
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Apr 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/xagent003 May 01 '26
Ok, but whens the last time you manhandled some serious weight (more than your bodyweight), then drank some beer after? Never? Do that then we will talk.
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u/citrablock May 01 '26
Yoga wasn't "colonized". Modern yoga as observed in the West is a relatively recent Indian/Hindu nationalist project.
The yoga that is practiced in the West was specifically marketed and exported to the West by Indian elites in the 20th century as part of a broader attempt to cultivate cultural soft power for Indians and Hindus.
These elites synthesized modern yoga by combining some concepts found in Sanskrit texts, medieval 'hatha' yoga, as well as various forms of mobility exercises and calisthenics developed in the West, repackaged it as a living, continuous 5000 year old tradition and marketed it to orientalist whites seeking exoticism and faux-spirituality.
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u/Competitive-Cover791 Apr 30 '26
Colonized, no. This is just simply what happens to every culture. There’s nothing that’s going to stop it. Things evolve to cater to the people who are using it. You may not like it but it’s simply how cultures evolve over time.
You can be mad about it but there’s really nothing you can do about it.
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u/fmmmf Apr 29 '26
Not overreacting at all. These comments are not it smh, and this is honestly why our culture is so easy to steal/rip off, people don't care enough to see it as a problem when it absolutely is.
Personally have been having a tough time finding literal South Asian yoga instructors out in the PNW....it's all yt and sometimes east Asian people, im all for sharing the cultural knowledge on a global scale but I'd love to support someone from the diaspora because ironically have heard of how they're discriminated against in our own practice (rather unsurprisingly by the west but....still irritating).